Bill Wolfer-The Man Behind MJ’s “Billie Jean” CS-80

video upload by Anthony Marinelli Music

"Bill Wolfer has referred to himself as "the least famous musician that everyone has heard play". He was a rising star in 80's Soul Music working with Stevie Wonder, Shalamar, Vanity, Dynasty and was responsible for programming and performing the iconic CS-80 synthesizer chord riff on Michael Jackson's biggest song 'Billie Jean'. Michael remembered a CS-80 sound he heard Bill play while they were on tour together and the rest is history.

This video provides a rare behind the scenes look at Michael Jackson's creative process while composing "Billy Jean" all the way through a detailed account of the final recording session at Westlake Studios. We discuss what it was like to work closely with producer Quincy Jones, engineer Bruce Swedien and of course Michael.

Bill was a trusted friend of Michael, someone that he could rely upon to develop his 3 original songs for the Thriller album - 'Billy Jean'. 'Beat" It', and 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin’. Bill helped Michael feel comfortable working out musical ideas and played an important role getting Michael's original songs ready for the album.

He also put together a truly great unlikely hit solo album in the vein of Quincy Jones' The Dude. The lineup of musicians include mega-stars Stevie Wonder (harmonica solo), Michael Jackson (backing vocals on two cuts), Finis Henderson (vocals) and Gospel star Jon Gibson."

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*ABOUT ANTHONY*

"Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including _*Young Guns*_ , _*Internal Affairs*_ , _*The Man From Elysian Fields*_ , _*15 Minutes*_ and _*Planes, Trains & Automobiles*_ , been commissioned by the *Los Angeles Philharmonic* for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as *Michael Jackson's* _*Thriller*_ .

His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for *Quincy Jones* , *Jack Nitzsche* , *Lamont Dozier* , *Arthur Rubenstein* and *Giorgio Moroder* was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major."

*Website* - https://www.anthonymarinellimusic.com